Animator and historian Tom Sito (BFA 1977 Animation) and Academy Award-winning production sound mixer Mark Ulano (1975 Film and Video) will each be honored with a Dusty Outstanding Alumni Award at the the 27th Dusty Film & Animation Festival, which will be held at the SVA Theatre, 333 West 23rd Street, New York City, from Saturday, May 7, through Tuesday, May 10, 2016. Sito’s credits include work on Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Shrek, and Ulano has worked on The Hateful Eight, Iron Man, Titanic and Inglourious Basterds, among many others.

Over 100 films and animations from students graduating this spring will be showcased at this year’s Dusty Film & Animation Festival, which has become a premier event to discover new film and animation talent (watch a short highlight video of last year’s fest below). It was established with the mission of introducing films made by students in the BFA Film and BFA Animation programs to a wider audience, and named after SVA founder Silas “Dusty” H. Rhodes. The festival kicks off with three days of film and animation screenings that are open to the public and concludes with the Dusty Awards ceremony, which will be held this year on May 10.

Fifteen awards will be handed out at the May 10 ceremony—including “Outstanding Film”, “Outstanding Achievement in Directing,” “Outstanding Documentary,” “Outstanding Animated Film,” and the “New York Women in Film & Television Award”—all given to students in recognition for outstanding thesis work. The final list of presenters and special guests will be made public soon. Past presenters have included legendary talents such as Danny Aiello, Ellen Barkin, Ellen Burstyn, Patricia Clarkson, Wes Craven, James Gandolfini, James Ivory, Harvey Keitel, Kevin Kline, Alex Kupershmidt, Melissa Leo, Daniel Minahan, Mira Nair, Bill Plympton, Bryan Singer, Kathleen Turner and John Turturro.

For more information about the 27th Dusty Film & Animation Festival , click here.